Russia Reaffirms Commitment to Istanbul Agreements, Blames Ukraine for Prisoner Swap Delays

Russia remains committed to the agreements reached with Ukraine during the previous round of negotiations in Istanbul and always fulfills its obligations, unlike Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday during a press briefing in Moscow.

Peskov dismissed Ukraine’s postponement of prisoner and body exchanges as unconvincing, saying: “We’ve heard countless excuses and justifications, but they’re unlikely to be believable.” Moscow has accused Ukraine of disrupting the implementation of the Istanbul agreements, which scheduled the first exchange for June 7. While Ukraine claimed it postponed the prisoner swap to next week, it also argued that no exact date had been set for the handover of bodies.

The Kremlin spokesman declined to respond to Ukrainian claims that Russia had unilaterally set the date, urging reporters to revisit comments by Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian negotiating team. “He answers all your questions there,” Peskov remarked, adding that Russia has not yet appealed to international organizations for assistance because a bilateral agreement is still in place. “First, we need to understand whether the other side refuses to fulfill these obligations,” he noted.

Peskov emphasized the need to maintain contact between the two sides and said there is no clear agreement yet on when a new round of negotiations might take place. “Ideally, the discussion should turn to continuing negotiations and organizing the next round,” he said. “At the moment, there are no definitive understandings on this matter.”